Bledsoe Redux

The Bengals offense still sits second to last in yardage with no help on the way. Carson and his inflamed elbow will watch from the sidelines again this week while the Whirling Dervish, Ryan Fitzpatrick gives it another go.

Number nine seems to be on the same career path as Drew Bledsoe. They’re the exact same size, both have cannon arms and both we’re first overall picks. Each golden boy struggled a bit their first season as starters, and both peaked around their fourth years as pros. They stay too long in the pocket, they try to force throws into small places and neither have much scrambling ability. Palmer is fading fast into mediocrity the way Bledsoe did in his last couple years with New England. Bledsoe revived his career some when he moved to Buffalo and I’m beginning to think a change of scenery is the only way Carson is ever going to be great again.

Why bring him back at all in ’08? His elbow is swollen, painful and apparently limiting the throws he can make. I think Fitzpatrick is a capable back-up, but why not begin to show Jordan Palmer some attention. It seems we only get about four quality years out of the Palmers, so let’s groom the next one. I honestly don’t know if Jordan has what it takes to be a decent QB, but the season is lost and we can afford a few zany experiments.

Expect to see Chris Perry relegated to the third-down back role. Cedric Benson showed me enough last week to become the every down back by gaining positive yards and not fumbling. The Chris Perry experiment should be officially considered a failure and completely terminated after the season.

The defense is ranked 31st in sacks so far this season. Robert Geathers has done little to earn his contract extension, and Odom has made a modest impact at best on the defensive line thus far. Zimmer has called plenty of blitzes this year – especially safety blitzes, but most times it becomes neutralized by effective pass protection from opposing running backs and tight ends. The Bengals are tied for 27th in the league with a –4 turnover differential. The defense has been on the field far too long this season and lack of turnovers coupled with a missing running game are the reasons why.

Marvin needs something good to happen to the Bengals, which can only mean a win. The team, the fans and the city aren’t swallowing the respectable loss placebo any longer. Coach Lewis talks about how slim the margin of error is for his players, but after almost winning four games (the Tennessee loss was really never that close) the real difference is the coaching.

Finally players are beginning to raise the issue about the play calling:

“You can say the play calling isn't where it needs to be. But if we're executing the simple stuff, they'd be comfortable calling the big stuff. We're not executing the little stuff and it puts (Bratkowski) in a bind upstairs. When we were rolling, Coach Brat called whatever he wanted,” said Chad.

“With Slim (Henry) playing, it opens up the offense and it gets the coaches to open it up more, which is strange to me," wondered Housh.

“I'm not sure. I know (offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski) was definitely conscious of it. He knew the situation, what was going on.” said Carson of the lack of the deep ball. “But not too many teams have been successful throwing the ball from nine yards deep, with seven-step drops, and really holding onto it long.”

Enough said.

Jets 22, Bengals 13

* Willie Anderson played great last week for Baltimore.

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